Sydney Sixers 6 for 188 (Vince 95, Tye 2-29, Richardson 2-45) beat Perth Scorchers 9 for 161 (Livingstone 45, Dwarshuis 3-37) by 27 runs
Finally on home soil after the Covid-19 summer kept them at neutral venues for all 15 of their previous games, the Sydney Sixers rode on the back of another James Vince special to become the second Big Bash League club to claim back-to-back titles. Fittingly, at a joyous SCG, they defeated the Perth Scorchers, the only previous club to claim two crowns in a row, to get there.
Vince’s contribution was elegant as ever and summed up why the Sixers had the measure of the Scorchers in both of their finals meetings. This is not to say things could not have been different. Perhaps overly influenced by showers that passed through Sydney comfortably before the 7.40pm start time, the Scorchers had decided to bowl first upon winning the bat flip and then did not use the full allocation of the wristspinner Fawad Ahmed, comfortably their best bowler on the night.
Those mis-steps aided the Sixers in compiling a total that, while not match-sealing, was going to be unreachable if the hosts put in a solid shift with the ball and in the field. Blessed with plenty of experience to bowl the right spells at the right times, the Sixers were never seriously challenged after the exit of Liam Livingstone.
The seasoned trio of Jackson Bird, Steve O’Keefe and Dan Christian all put in excellent displays with the ball. Christian has now been part of nine domestic T20 title-winning combinations; the coach Greg Shipperd was at the helm for his sixth Australian T20 tournament win spanning both state and club-based eras. Old blokes do indeed win stuff.
Full report to follow…
Daniel Brettig is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. @danbrettig
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